Show Us Your silver age "hard to find in high grade" books!

[Silver]

Three on the census for this one, highest is an 8.0.

 

 

Mick, this one has a big store stamp right in the middle of it, you should sell it to me and wait for a different one

 

Georgous copy! I love the ribbon cover book you posted before it! Was that the only time they did that on a border?

 

Thanks for the compliment on the Jimmy, it's the Oregon copy, one of my favorite pedigrees for the stuff I collect.

[BrianR]

I am excited about this book so I figured I would post it here as well since it is near impossible to get in high grade.

 

[adamstrange]

 

That's a pre-hero book!!!!

 

Okay, here's one I haven't posted alot and is a beast in HG. This is the sole current census leader, trailed by a single 8.0 copy.

 

 

I also had to trade a sizable chunk of my pre hero JIMs to get it, but would do it again in a second.

[Hepcat]

...because I hate photo covers.

 

I'm with you on that issue. I much prefer painted covers or ones with line art.

 

(thumbs u

[Hepcat]

This is the 2nd highest graded copy of the tough-to find in HG first appearance of the Mad Hatter. I've never seen the CGC 8.5 though I would like to:

 

 

The Mad Hatter! Cool! Whatever happened to him? What was his last appearance? Did he appear on the infamous TV show from 1966?

 

[Hepcat]

 

While it doesn't look good for my man Rock, I'm giving ten to one he survives the encounter.

 

[namisgr]

 

The Mad Hatter! Cool! Whatever happened to him? What was his last appearance? Did he appear on the infamous TV show from 1966?

 

 

[EJR]

It always amazes me that the colors on the book can be so vibrant and that structurally the book is solid, but the pages can be so brown. I wonder in what conditions the book was stored over the years.

Steve, thanks for sharing your World's Finest #92! I think the paper quality on late 50's, early 60's books had something to do with the pages going tan/brown. Its really a shame since the covers in some cases are so vibrant and full of gloss! EJR

[Stevenrams]

Well, I guess this book would fit the thread. A HG House of Mystery 84 with the predominately black cover with very bright cover gloss and rich color strike. Additionally, the cover story is pencilled by Jack Kirby whose work for DC in the 1950s was dwarfed by his Atlas work. And it's cover dated March of 1959 and has OW pages. How da' ya' like them apples?

 

[Stevenrams]

It always amazes me that the colors on the book can be so vibrant and that structurally the book is solid, but the pages can be so brown. I wonder in what conditions the book was stored over the years.

Steve, thanks for sharing your World's Finest #92! I think the paper quality on late 50's, early 60's books had something to do with the pages going tan/brown. Its really a shame since the covers in some cases are so vibrant and full of gloss! EJR

 

True! And I'm still looking for another HG copy of WF 92 with superior PQ.

 

SLR

[rjpb]

Well, I guess this book would fit the thread. A HG House of Mystery 84 with the predominately black cover with very bright cover gloss and rich color strike. Additionally, the cover story is pencilled by Jack Kirby whose work for DC in the 1950s was dwarfed by his Atlas work. And it's cover dated March of 1959 and has OW pages. How da' ya' like them apples?

 

 

Prototype?

 

 

[Stevenrams]

Well, I guess this book would fit the thread. A HG House of Mystery 84 with the predominately black cover with very bright cover gloss and rich color strike. Additionally, the cover story is pencilled by Jack Kirby whose work for DC in the 1950s was dwarfed by his Atlas work. And it's cover dated March of 1959 and has OW pages. How da' ya' like them apples?

 

 

Prototype?

 

 

According to the OSPG, it's the prototype of the Doom Patrol's Negative Man.

[Stevenrams]

Here's a really nice copy of Detective Comics 302. OW/W pages and a glossy black over and I love those big box 12 centers and now that I look at the book I notice how blue the sky is as well. From 1962

 

[JohnT]

Awesome books Mick! I bet quite a few of war books would falll into this category?

 

I've been thinking about this whole "hard-to-find" thing anecdotally. I've sifted the boxes at comic conventions, done my eBay searches, scoped out all the usual auction sites (Clink, Heritage, etc.), frequented dealers' websites, swapped stuff with friends for 25 years, bought stuff on these boards, and combed through collections of fellow war collectors. I can say for certain that there are issues I've NEVER seen in grade (not even in friends' collections), but if they're not in my collection, then revealing them would be a bit counterproductive for obvious reasons. I still have a LOT of holes in my collection that need to be filled.

 

However, the census offers the closest thing to hard data (and I use that term loosely for myriad reasons) on the existence of issues. There's something a bit barfy about using the census to talk about it, especially if you grudgingly drink from the CGC Koolaide like I do. In referencing the census, I am not trying to dismiss the opinions of those who determine the rarity of issues anecdotally. I'm right there with you, but the census is just another way to look at it.

 

Disclaimer complete. Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I'll proceed.

 

I looked at the census for a lot of war books, and the high grade copies--if there WERE high-grade copies--on virtually all of the 10¢ war books hovered in the 7.5-8.5 range. . .usually a single highest-grade copy in 8.0 or 8.5. There are rare anomalies with 9.2s and 9.4s, but none of that should come as a surprise. What IS interesting is how few TOTAL copies there are on the census. I suppose copies of most of the 10¢ war books in 5.0 or less aren't going to be valued high enough to convince people that slabbing is worthwhile since they'd be worth less than the slabbing, but in the 6.0-7.0 range, there just aren't very many copies. . .and that IS a range that would get a high enough dollar to make the slabbing worthwhile (assuming people are slabbing to flip eventually). A LOT of war books have zero copies in that range.

 

Anyway, I went through and noticed a number of the ones with minimal copies on the census that I already have scans of from my collection (in most cases--raw), so here are a few. The ones I'm posting are NOT part of the census.

 

There are only 2 on the census with a highest at 7.5:

 

 

Interesting info, and this is a great cover that I've never seen before. And what a copy! It looks so bright that it resembles a mid-60s book until you notice the 10 cent price.

[frozentundraguy]

Well, I guess this book would fit the thread. A HG House of Mystery 84 with the predominately black cover with very bright cover gloss and rich color strike. Additionally, the cover story is pencilled by Jack Kirby whose work for DC in the 1950s was dwarfed by his Atlas work. And it's cover dated March of 1959 and has OW pages. How da' ya' like them apples?

 

 

Prototype?

 

 

According to the OSPG, it's the prototype of the Doom Patrol's Negative Man.

 

Excellent book. Tough to find the books with black covers in HG. Detective comic's also had a negative man cover. I also believe Superman/Action Comics (cannot recall off the top) has a negative man cover.

 

 

[Silver]

A lot of the books being shown are seldomly seen, regardless of grade, very cool to see books you have not noticed before, and especialy nice ones.

 

You would not think any silver age issues of titles like Action, Adventure or Detective would be harder to get, but my experience is otherwise.

 

When I bought this book, I thought, "I haven't seen this one before". This is second highest on the census behind a lone 8.0:

 

[Stevenrams]

A lot of the books being shown are seldomly seen, regardless of grade, very cool to see books you have not noticed before, and especialy nice ones.

 

You would not think any silver age issues of titles like Action, Adventure or Detective would be harder to get, but my experience is otherwise.

 

When I bought this book, I thought, "I haven't seen this one before". This is second highest on the census behind a lone 8.0:

 

 

That is one tough and may I add one cool book, Dan. Love the black cover on the Adventure.

SLR

[Sqeggs]

A lot of the books being shown are seldomly seen, regardless of grade, very cool to see books you have not noticed before, and especialy nice ones.

 

You would not think any silver age issues of titles like Action, Adventure or Detective would be harder to get, but my experience is otherwise.

 

 

Probably has something to do with the strong Marvel-orientation of fandom during the early-to-mid 1960s. So not as many people were seeking out and preserving DCs. That and lower print runs during the mid-to-late 1950s. I have been slowly trying to put together a run of 1950s World's Finest. Some of those are real tough and I'm not just looking for high grade.

[Silver]

Whats your focus on World's Finest? I love that series, very underlooked.

 

Steve posted a really nice 92, which I don't have. I see the 91 and 94's fairly often. Here is a 93, which you don't run across very often. Strange how some consecuctive issues are harder to find than others:

 

[Stevenrams]

Whats your focus on World's Finest? I love that series, very underlooked.

 

Steve posted a really nice 92, which I don't have. I see the 91 and 94's fairly often. Here is a 93, which you don't run across very often. Strange how some consecuctive issues are harder to find than others:

 

 

Right Dan. That's a WF you don't see at all. I've never even seen a mid-grade of that book. That's a really beautiful copy you have.

 

SLR